It’s all about Ad:Tech this week – plenty of meetings, cocktail parties, sessions, panels, podcasting and schmoozing. For about a week I’ve been gearing up for the show, which starts Tuesday. And while I anticipated seeing lots of familiar faces all throughout this week, I wasn’t expecting to see any over the weekend.

However, as I was celebrating the 60th birthday of the grandfather of punk on Saturday night at the Warfield Theater, I ran into Todd Crawford and his lovely wife, Lisa. The Affiliate Summit Legend award winner, who is the VP of sales and business development for Digital River’s oneNetwork, came into SF early to see Iggy and the Stooges prior to attending Ad:Tech. Todd is also one of the featured interviews in the upcoming May/June issue of Revenue.

Ever have an ah-ha moment about someone else? That moment often occurs when one little comment or action or tale about a person’s past puts so many things about them into perspective. I felt like I had that moment when I saw Todd at the Stooges show. It was similar to a time years ago when it was revealed to me that my demanding, controlling, emotional, yet fragile boss had been a competitive ice skater. Ah-ha. Now I get it.

I was reminded again on Sunday that Ad:Tech was about to move into full swing when I received a Twitter message from ShareASale president and CEO Brian Littleton, who was planted in the only bar in SF showing playoff hockey. Go Sharks.

And now it’s Monday, I’m primed and ready for the conference to begin. I’ve mapped out my schedule. I’ve circled the sessions I’m attending and I’ve warned family and friends not to wait up or expect calls returned this week.

So, here are a few things that are planned for the week.

If you’re in town for the show, please join a bunch of online marketing types for drinks on Tuesday night. It’s an informal gathering at the Fourth St. Bar and Grill, a half a block from the Moscone Convention Center. We’ll be the loud group in the corner singing happy birthday to Affiliate Summit co-founder Shawn Collins. Psst, he’s turning 37 on Friday.

And on Wednesday, former Commission Junction senior vice president Lisa Riolo, who is now a consultant, will be joining Shawn Collins and me for the Affiliate Thing podcast. You can listen in live Wednesday at noon (EST) on WebMasterRadio.FM or download the podcast at your convenience.

Not to be missed on Thursday is the panel I’m moderating. It’s all about Leveraging Lifetime Customer Value into eCommerce Gains. The panelists are a great group and include Shawn Collins; Brian Platter, GM of Home Delivery for Peet’s Coffee & Tea; Jay Webster, GM of performance network BlueLithium; and Rene Bonvanie, senior VP and GM at Salesforce.com.

Also, Revenue magazine has a booth at the show. Stop by and say hello if you have a chance. It’s going to be an exciting week filled with information and great ideas.